An iron foundry in London is turning old parts of a WW II-era tank into model replicas to commemorate its history and raise funds for future maintenance. The report in CBC says the mini tanks are made with iron from the Holy Roller M4A2 Sherman Tank, which sits at London’s Victoria Park.
“It’s been a labour of love,” said Joe Murray, president of London’s 1st Hussars Association and a retired lieutenant colonel who commanded the regiment from 1996 to 2000. He adds he owns one of the replicas, which sits on top of his fireplace.
“You have a piece of history and a piece of a vehicle and remembrance of the men and women who fought for this country and brought freedom to the world,” he said.
Picture courtesy CBC
According to Murray, the original Holy Roller was one of two surviving Canadian tanks that landed in Normandy for D-Day on June 6, 1944. The tank made it 11 kilometres inland on Juno Beach to support Canadian, American, British and French soldiers pushing into German territory.
“Every man who served in that tank came back alive,” said Murray, adding the tank had been in almost every major battle until V-Day on May 8, 1945.
Iron was taken from the Holy Roller’s older chevron tracks when they were replaced last June. Wells Foundry, an iron casting business in east London, melted the tank’s discarded tracks with metal. The liquid mixture was poured into moulds made from 3D scans of the tank. Each model weighs about 24 pounds.
Matt Wells, co-owner of Wells Foundry, said the idea came from the regiment as a way to raise money for future maintenance of the Holy Roller.
“I, myself, used to play on the tank as a kid,” said Wells, adding he agreed to help restore the tank by making the replicas in-house.
“I know it was rusted right through. It was leaking into the tank. It was at the point where if something wasn’t done now, then it would have been basically a scrap project in a few years,” Wells said.
According to Wells, six tanks can be made per mould. The first batch, which produced 60 mini tanks, was unveiled at a fundraiser gala for the Holy Roller in June.
Some models were given to members of the regiment, while others are available for purchase by emailing holyroller1944@gmail.com. The models cost $120, with a first run of 60 complete. Another run of 60 is expected to be produced in the future.
“It’s just a way of being able to get a piece of living history,” said Allan Finney, a retired lieutenant colonel, adding the funds will keep the real Holy Roller tank maintained from damage and graffiti.
“It’s symbolic to me in a way that a lot of soldiers that came back also had their own battle scars, either externally that we could see or internally.”
